“Someone must have been telling a lie about Joseph K for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning" (Kafka,1). The Trial by: Frankz Kafta
The Book Cover
Summary of the book:
On the day of his thirtieth birthday, a man named Joseph K was arrested by two men for a crime that he doesn't even know he commited. When he asks what he has done, they tell him nothing. Throughout the book, K tries to figure out how he has disobeyed the law. Nothing is said to him about what he has done in this unusual arrest... until one day when his life takes an unexpeted turn for the worst.
Why This Book is So Amazingly Awesome:
Many of the books I have read from the earlier days, I have not been able to understand. This one kept me intrigued by its mystery. For most of the book, I didn't know what K. had done for a crime. It was kept secret from him. The characters were also very mysterious. This book is a good but exaggerated example of what the law is really like. It shows that people who work in the law don't always like to give the clear truth. K. never really found out what he had done wrong. He spent a good deal of his life talking to people who knew little but not the whole truth. The characters in this book tried to be helpful, but since they knew nothing, they couldn't really help him. For example, one of the characters named Block had a case that was five years old. He told Joseph that there wasn't much hope in figuring out his arrest. This book was also interesting because K.'s arrest was unlike any others that I have heard of. He was able to leave his house and do whatever he wanted, as if he wasn't arrrested. The only bad thing about this was that the arrest was ruining his banking career. What else that was great about this book is the description it uses. In the book, K. heared a noise coming from one of the rooms in the bank. "A few evenings later, K. was passing along the Bank corridor from his office to the main staircase- he was almost the last to leave, only two clerks in the dispatch department were still at work by the dim light of a glow lamp- when he heard convulsive sighs behind a door..." (Kafka,83). When he went to see what it was, he is soon to find out that there is a man who is whipping some of his workers. The description to this was great, even though it was a tad brutal. It really had me wondering what the noise was. Some other great description was when he described the characters. "He was slim and yet well knit, he wore a closely fitting black suit furnished with all sorts of pleats..." (Kafka,1).
“The Court wants nothing from you. It receives you when you come and it dismisses you when you go.” (278)
Another interesting thing about this book was how it ended. I was suprised that they killed him for no reason at all, even without telling him what crime he had commited. They even expected him to kill himself! "But the hands of one of the partners were already at K.'s throat, while the other thrust the knife deep into his heart and turned it there twice" (Kafka, 229). It was also a very brutal ending. Sadly enough, this kept me wondering after the book. It made me wonder why they killed him. Why did the not tell him what he had done wrong?
There is controversy in whether or not Kafka had a point in writing this book. Though, I find it one of the best books I have ever read. Yes, the plot does seem to carry on, but it is so interesting it doesn't matter. It shows a lot about what the author is thinking about at the time and his views on how the law works. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good read. It will keep you wondering for hours.
Character List Joseph K- The main character of the story. He is works as the head of the bank, but his reputation begins to slide once he is arrested. Fraulein Burstner- She lives next to K. in the same house. She is hardly ever in the novel. Frau Grubach - She's like the landlord of the house. Uncle Karl- K.'s uncle who appears when he hears about K.'s arrest. He gets mad at him and tells him to get a lawyer. he is more concerned about the family's reputation than the fact that K. is arrested. Huld, the Lawyer- He is K.'s lawyer who was referred to by Uncle Karl. K. fires him later because he feels like he his doing nothing to help his case. Leni- Every story has a lover. She is K.'s. She thinks that accused men are highly attractive, which is the reason she falls for K. Assistant Manager- He works at the bank with K. Titorelli, the Painter- He paints the portrait for the hearing. He knows a ton about how the court works, which comes in handy for K. Block, the Tradesman- He is also accused for a crime that he doesn't know of. He tells K. that he might never figure out what is going on with his because he has been working on his for five years and has gotten nowhere.
“Someone must have been telling a lieabout Joseph K for without having done
anything wrong he was arrested one
fine morning" (Kafka,1).
The Trial
by: Frankz Kafta
Summary of the book:
On the day of his thirtieth birthday, a man named Joseph K was arrested by two men for a crime that he doesn't even know he commited. When he asks what he has done, they tell him nothing. Throughout the book, K tries to figure out how he has disobeyed the law. Nothing is said to him about what he has done in this unusual arrest... until one day when his life takes an unexpeted turn for the worst.Why This Book is So Amazingly Awesome:
Many of the books I have read from the earlier days, I have not been able to understand. This one kept me intrigued by its mystery. For most of the book, I didn't know what K. had done for a crime. It was kept secret from him. The characters were also very mysterious. This book is a good but exaggerated example of what the law is really like. It shows that people who work in the law don't always like to give the clear truth. K. never really found out what he had done wrong. He spent a good deal of his life talking to people who knew little but not the whole truth. The characters in this book tried to be helpful, but since they knew nothing, they couldn't really help him. For example, one of the characters named Block had a case that was five years old. He told Joseph that there wasn't much hope in figuring out his arrest. This book was also interesting because K.'s arrest was unlike any others that I have heard of. He was able to leave his house and do whatever he wanted, as if he wasn't arrrested. The only bad thing about this was that the arrest was ruining his banking career. What else that was great about this book is the description it uses. In the book, K. heared a noise coming from one of the rooms in the bank. "A few evenings later, K. was passing along the Bank corridor from his office to the main staircase- he was almost the last to leave, only two clerks in the dispatch department were still at work by the dim light of a glow lamp- when he heard convulsive sighs behind a door..." (Kafka,83). When he went to see what it was, he is soon to find out that there is a man who is whipping some of his workers. The description to this was great, even though it was a tad brutal. It really had me wondering what the noise was. Some other great description was when he described the characters. "He was slim and yet well knit, he wore a closely fitting black suit furnished with all sorts of pleats..." (Kafka,1).
“The Court wants nothing from you. It receives you when you come and it dismisses you when you go.” (278)
Another interesting thing about this book was how it ended. I was suprised that they killed him for no reason at all, even without telling him what crime he had commited. They even expected him to kill himself! "But the hands of one of the partners were already at K.'s throat, while the other thrust the knife deep into his heart and turned it there twice" (Kafka, 229). It was also a very brutal ending. Sadly enough, this kept me wondering after the book. It made me wonder why they killed him. Why did the not tell him what he had done wrong?
There is controversy in whether or not Kafka had a point in writing this book. Though, I find it one of the best books I have ever read. Yes, the plot does seem to carry on, but it is so interesting it doesn't matter. It shows a lot about what the author is thinking about at the time and his views on how the law works. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good read. It will keep you wondering for hours.
Character List
Joseph K- The main character of the story. He is works as the head of the bank, but his reputation begins to slide once he is arrested.
Fraulein Burstner- She lives next to K. in the same house. She is hardly ever in the novel.
Frau Grubach - She's like the landlord of the house.
Uncle Karl- K.'s uncle who appears when he hears about K.'s arrest. He gets mad at him and tells him to get a lawyer. he is more concerned about the family's reputation than the fact that K. is arrested.
Huld, the Lawyer- He is K.'s lawyer who was referred to by Uncle Karl. K. fires him later because he feels like he his doing nothing to help his case.
Leni- Every story has a lover. She is K.'s. She thinks that accused men are highly attractive, which is the reason she falls for K.
Assistant Manager- He works at the bank with K.
Titorelli, the Painter- He paints the portrait for the hearing. He knows a ton about how the court works, which comes in handy for K.
Block, the Tradesman- He is also accused for a crime that he doesn't know of. He tells K. that he might never figure out what is going on with his because he has been working on his for five years and has gotten nowhere.
Works Cited
"The Trial." X2 Review: The Trial, and Genealogy of Morals. 2007. World Book Press. 5 Nov. 2007. http://readingbackwards.wordpress.com/2006/02/23/x2-review-the-trial-and-genealogy-of-morals/
Kafka, Franz. The Trial. USA: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc, 1937.
"Best Films of the 60's." The Aspect Ratio. The Aspect Ratio. 5 Nov. 2007. http://www.theaspectratio.net/bestfilms60s1.htm
"Google Video." google. 2007. Youtube. 8 Nov 2007 <http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=The+Trial+by+Franz+Kafka&num=10&so=0&hl=en&start=0>.